A Thousand Years, Hidden Tears
by angie9281
Summary: After the events of In Between Worlds, Sookie finds herself awakening in unfamiliar surroundings that soon become familiar when she comes across a room of relics and mementos she never expected to find. As she pores through the long history of her Viking, she comes to understand him better and things get put perspective for her of what almost was and what could have been.


_**Author's note-please read Wounds Run Deep and then In Between Worlds before reading this one….it is a series and this story is the third I have written so far. This story is a little long but I wanted to keep it whole rather than doing chapters. It all just kind of came to me so I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading and please leave reviews not just for this one but my other stories as well. Have a great day!**_

It felt so good against her skin, the silky fabric that was cool and refreshing, smelling of patchouli and the ocean. Not wanting to get out of the big bed, she pulled the comforter up and over her head, feeling worlds better than she had the night before. Something inside told her it was light out and it had taken her some time to remember that this was not her bed, her blankets, her room. Then the events of the night before hit her and she remembered the way she had so nearly, literally, faded into oblivion. If not for her friends, she would have been a spirit that was destroyed, her body taken over forever by the dark faerie Mab. Shuddering to think how close she had come to literally fading off the face of the earth-or Faery, for that matter, she got herself out of bet and gingerly started to explore her sleek, immaculate surroundings. The room she was in at the moment was a muted lilac color with a thick cream colored carpet, decorated with a full bookshelf with some of her favorite authors and there was also a flat screen TV on the wall across from the plush bed. A bathroom was adjoined to the room and she was impressed by the sheer size of the tub. More of a Jacuzzi style than anything else and the towels she fingered were the softest of the soft. There was a close that was filled with clothes that she could only have ever dreamed of, designer duds that ranged from casual to fancy and footwear to correspond. "Wow." she breathed, impressed at the thought that had come into putting all of this together. She was somewhat appreciative that someone had been goon enough to change her from her clothes into a pair of silky rose colored pajamas but decided to take the plush mauve colored robe that was paid out on a chair for her and put it on.

Putting thoughts of a long soak in the tub aside for the time being, she exited the room to do some investigating. It was deadly quiet and though there was not a window to be seen, she did have to admire the paintings and other works of art that were in their place and in fact, there were a few faux windows that imitated daylight and she had never seen such technology. Playing with the switch on one of the long windows, she found she could replace the artificial light with a starry twilight and even a raging storm, replete with the pitter patter of rain. She kept peering into door after door, finding closets of clothes, old looking chests and several other bedrooms, no doubt for the occasional guest. And then as she walked down the wooden, polished spiral staircase, she got the sense she was in something more of a castle than some average house one would find in the suburbs. The floors were a aged looking hardwood with the occasional woven throw rug placed, all in dark colors of red, green and blues. The kitchen was sleek and modern, not that there was much need for a kitchen, save for human visitors stopping by and on the polished black table that could easily seat ten, she found a note scrawled in a familiar script.

 _"Sookie, I hope you find your accommodations acceptable and please make yourself at home. If you should need me, here is a key to my room down in the basement."_

She placed the note aside and put the keycard in her robe pocket, understanding the level of trust Eric must have in her and few others. It was clear that there was no hired help, that he wouldn't trust anyone save for his kin-namely Pam- to do/take care of anything around this massive house and even if the need did arise that someone needed to be hired, Sookie figured that the person tasked with the job, whatever it may be, would no doubt wind up getting a heavy dose of glamouring. Opening the drawers, the cupboards and the fridge, she saw that it certainly was well stocked but settled on some fruit salad she made up with some apples, bananas and oranges. Cleaning up her mess, she shuffled off to explore the ground floor some more, finding a immaculately organized office, more closet space with some boxes and clothes within. As she passed through the living room, which, she saw had only the best home theatre system and sleek black leather furniture in it, she saw something else. The walls were painted navy blue with a white trim. Basic in its simplicity and no matter what room she happened upon, she found little change in the dark blue/black/white color scheme save for the room she was staying in. then she entered the largest room she had been in thus far, which was saying something as every room had so far been larger than any of her rooms at her place. This room was different as it seemed like a museum, a time capsule. The floors were the same hardwood and had the same throw rugs scattered here and there. Deadly looking weapons of a time long gone were hung all over the walls in a organized fashion and in a glass case in the rear of the room rested a object she had not seen since her time in Russell Edgington's manor.

As she peered at a crown that was once Eric's fathers and felt a pang of sadness. It was sometimes hard to think of him as what he could have been had fate not been as cruel as it had turned out to be. The slaughter of his family in front of him that night, it had to have been….she couldn't imagine it. It was at this moment where she realized that eh was, in fact, more sentimental than she had ever thought he could be. Especially when she walked to a table where there was a simple desk chair set next to. On the table rested a fireproof box which happened to be open, apparently someone had forgotten to close it and lock it again. Clearly it was important but not important for anyone else to want for as she pulled out the contents, found small photo albums and as she flipped through them, saw that the books were certainly looked at often, judging by the well worn leather binding they were in. the faces within the pages were unsurprising but again, she was touched by the sentimentality. There were pictures of places unfair to her but saw that there were scenes of sprawling landscapes. She had a feeling it had to be of his homeland and was in awe of the beauty of it all. Then there were some other photos-some looking to be some of the first photographs ever taken.

"San Francisco…." she muttered as she read the well worn pencil written below the black and white photos. And then there were some that were more modern, photos of what looked like Fangtasia….except it looked like a video store being remodeled. As she flipped through this part of the book, she watched the transformation unfold until the building she knew quite well looked as it did today. She had a feeling she would be asking him someday about just why they looked as if they had…run the video store, judging by some photos she had seen. Pulling out the most recent book, a book that looked brand new, she saw but a handful of photos were in it. And they were of her, clippings from what appeared to be the missing person posters that had been put up during the time she had been missing in Faery, before the mess with the witches. And a couple were of her. How he had gotten these photos, she couldn't say for certain save for possibly when she had gone missing during that time period. He had said he hadn't given up on her and she took this gesture, of her photos being here in the album as being a outlet for the Viking, not wanting to give up on her. Ever. And before she closed the book, she found a few photos of his long dead sister Nora. A death he had tied everything to prevent and she had learned, through Pam, that there had been nothing that the Viking could do as he had been trapped, unable to stop the injection of hep v that would come to claim Nora. That Sookie also learned Nora had died, melting away in Eric's arms was even more heartbreaking to her. She closed the book, feeling uneasy, relieved, grateful and….sad. Sad for the time she had wasted pushing him aside. Sad for what anguish he had gone through over such a long time. She couldn't imagine carrying grief for ten centuries and it made her feel more appreciative, grateful, for getting another chance to make things right.

She didn't want to leave this room, not yet. It felt like a time capsule of sorts, a hodgepodge of remnants from Eric's long life and as she examined a set of chests, she found scraps of the past. Literally. The trophies pillaged from many battles. Battles she hadn't even been born during and battles she had been into the thick of. Sure enough, she pulled out a scrap of fabric she recognized as part of Marnie's dress….saw a bloodied stake with long dried blood upon it. Her faerie magic told her that this particular one was the one that had taken out Talbot and this send Edgington on his mad rampage. And there were more stakes she found, in this chest. One that had killed Edgington himself. And she even found a tarnished piece of gold jewelry that told her belonged to someone he despised. Nan Flanigan. Poring gently through the sometimes macabre collection, she was silent, thinking only of how much he had seen, done. The deaths he had wrought. There was no denying that he was a strong warrior. Battle hardened with the capacity to show no mercy. On the other hand, she knew he was good deep down, that he could love. And did. He had plenty of it for his friends and family, though still struggled at times to reveal such emotions. She smiled to herself as she thought of the times she had had with him over the years. The time he was drunk after draining her fairy godmother certainly stood out and she laughed to herself at the memory, deciding to leave this room and to go find the one she had just, in the past hour, learned so much more about.

Shutting the door quietly behind her, she blinked back the tears. All this loneliness he had carried, the burden of grief. Never getting to live a long life with his human family. It broke her heart all over again as these thoughts swam through her mind. Yes, he had had Godric and the rest of his vamp family over the years. That he had had not lost Pam at least was a comfort but yet, he had only turned her just over a hundred years ago. There was so much time when he had been on his own. Alone. With no one to comfort him, to love him. "Oh, I am so sorry….." she whispered under her breath as she once again thought of the guilt she carried with her. She soon found her way to the door leading to the basement area, unsure of what she would find. There was a large common room like area when she reached the bottom of the stairs and two doors off to the left. Both required keycards and looked as if they couldn't be easily breached. The one to the far left she tried first but a red light signaled that she was wrong. So by the process of elimination she walked down a ways to the second door and carefully she slid the card into the slot. This was unplanned but something in her gut told her she needed to do this and besides, she was no weakling and had the power to protect herself if need be. Not that she thought she would be waking a sleeping vampire, that he would remain as such.

Entering the room, she was surprised to find it was softly lit. not bright by any means, but enough for her to get a look at the large room before her. The floor was not carpeted but a unforgiving marble that was cool against her bare feet. The sconces that lit the room were made to resemble medieval torches, giving the room a dungeon like air to it and she felt it appropriate in a odd way that he would have his large room designed as it did. A taste of his long gone life. Her eyes, augmented by the fact she had some vamp powers within her now as well, allowed her to see as if it was as light as day inside. And as such, she saw that the throw rugs were more….rustic than the ones in the rest of the huge house they were made from what she had to assume were, real animal hides and even the bed she approached was covered in the soft furs of animals long gone. Standing a few feet from the king sized bed, she looked around the room some more, finding a door she assumed was a closet and a open doorway revealed a high tech bathroom, large tub in plain view as she peeked in out of curiosity. Walking back to the bed, she stood at the foot of it and watched for several heartbeats, the still form of the Viking was wrapped in the furs, though from what she could tell, that was all he was wrapped in-she saw a pile of clothes thrown to the right of the bed at the foot of the bedside table on which rested a light and his phone. Boldly, she rounded back to the left side of the bed and slid in next to him, pulling a pelt up and over herself and placing her head on the cushy black pillows . She lay on her side so as to watch him sleep and she saw the faintest trace of red under his eyes…..dried tears as it would appear and she wondered if he dreamed, had terrible dreams of the past. That he had put her safety over his own so many times and time and time again she had ignored that chivalry. The incident with the Fellowship of the Sun was one she couldn't let go of, when he had offered himself up in order to get Sookie free from Steve Newlin. And with this though, she couldn't stop herself from bursting into tears, choking sobs that kept her from noticing she was now being watched.

"Well, this isn't how I expected to awaken….a little too early I suspect." Eric said with a small smile, a smile that faded as she looked at him with a look of distress and melancholy. "I don't mind you came in…..a pleasant surprise…but what is it?"

She explained how she had spent the time exploring his house, that which she had seen in his room of memories, as she had put it. And that all she could think about after visiting the room was how terrible, how horrible she had been to him in the past. "I am so sorry….and that you agreed to change yourself forever to be able to visit me in Faery…..I don't deserve this….none of this…" she kept sobbing, unable to look him in the eye. Finally, she sat up and went to leave but felt his cool hand pull her gently back down.

"I feel sometimes I don't deserve you either….because frankly, when I first met you I was attracted to you but saw you mostly as a tool I could use. I didn't see you as a person, I didn't see the goodness or….whatever. I thought you beneath me and it took some time before I got to see you for what you were. Not just a feisty faerie, but as a warrior my father would have been proud of. I was a fool to not have acted sooner on how I felt about you but I was…." he grimaced "Afraid."

"I promise to not let anyone know you are a sentimental softie." she grinned as he wiped her tears from her face. "But I think it is a poorly kept secret anyway…..Pam has seen your collection, I am guessing that the second room down the hall is hers?"

"She stays from time to time to help keep this place up. I trust no one else but me and my own to do so."

"Well, don't think I am going to be cleaning up for you….very often. You are a big boy…a old boy." she said with a smirk, to which he roared with laughter and started playing with her hair.

"This is….nice." he said as she snuggled closer. "Makes up for a lot of dark times…" he closed his eyes as he fondled her hair slowly. "So how do you like the place….that room is yours whenever you want it. If you want it."

Touched by the gesture, she smiled and slid her hand under the fur and took his hand. "Thank you….I believe I will take you up on that offer from time to time…starting today….I am off for the weekend anyway…"

"Oh good….then perhaps we can have a nice weekend of…..finishing this reconciliation." he said, eyes still closed but looking god like even in this position. "And maybe I can give you a little training session on how to use some of what you saw in my room….the weapons. I , for one, think you would look….delectable with a axe in hand…."

She snorted as she imagined herself back in his time, wearing Viking clothes, wielding crude but deadly weaponry. Then again, picturing him in that kind of clothing…..gave her some naughty thoughts and she told him as such and again he laughed and they remained silent until they were both asleep again a feeling of peace and bliss that neither had truly felt for some time. It was the beginning of the next chapter of their lives and it would at least start peacefully.


End file.
